Remember talking about NEXT? How we’re going to specifically going to be working on …
N – New small groups and measured Sunday School growth
E – Encouraging strong homes
X – Extending our reach
T – Taking it to God
Not only have we had several specific measures that have accomplished much of that, but those are just always good things to be doing, aren’t they?
The church is always supposed to be thinking of what’s next…
The next generation of believers
The next generation of leaders in the church, preparing for service
The next person who’s going to accept Jesus
The next project we will throw ourselves into
The next time we get together to worship
The next level of maturity in your faith
The next surprise God has ready for you - Heaven? Challenge? Blessing?
We need to constantly be looking at the horizon, to consider what’s next at CCC.
2 things to keep in mind about all that: it’s going to take God making it happen, and it’s also going to take more than a couple people.
In fact, it’s going to take a bunch of people – and not just a bunch of people together, but a bunch of people working together – like a body. It’s going to take “unity.”
I visited in a church that struggled to get this straight. They were lacking unity. They had a big task in front of them, but they kept letting things get in the way. They were proof, in fact, that you can not only meet together each week, but you can even belong to the same Body of Christ and still live in a dis-united way.
They had members of the church dividing over who had led them to Jesus. There were members suing each other in court. There were other members who were exercising their freedom in Christ without caring how it affected the others. They were divided over corporate worship – can you believe it? They didn’t agree about how it should be conducted, and they weren’t thinking of each other when it was time for the Lord’s Supper. On top of this, they were using their God-given gifts to promote themselves over one another.
Now, take a congregation with all this trouble and try to fix it. What would you do? The Apostle Paul would write them a letter – really 3. And that’s exactly what he did. So, we all have the opportunity to visit the church of Corinth by reading what he wrote to them.
1 Corinthians 11:18 - In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
Among the word-pictures that the Bible uses to describe the Church, the picture of a human Body is one of the most important. Not only does it describe Jesus as the Head, but it also helps us picture how the rest is supposed to fit together. That’s what Paul does in Ch12. In fact, I think that what Paul is describing here is a way to unity.
Christians have God’s HS living inside them. Having the HS ought to cause some attachment among us.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
Paul goes on to talk about some of the different ways the HS is seen or “manifested” in the early church to help it grow – “The message of wisdom,” “the message of knowledge,” “faith,” “gifts of healing,” “miraculous powers,” “prophecy,” distinguishing between spirits,” “speaking in different tongues,” “interpretation of tongues” – 9 different special gifts, all different, but all from the same Spirit. And He is the One to determine who gets which gift, and God already determined that the reason He gave those gifts was for the common good of the Church.
That Church, that body, is a unit. It has many parts, but it’s just one Body. It’s brought to life by the life-giving force of just one Spirit. That means, if you’re in Jesus Christ, I’m a part of the Body with you.
A unit is “one.” The word unity means “oneness.” How is that possible in a church that has a goal to keep adding more and more people? How is that unity possible when there are thousands and thousands of congregations meeting around the world, or 7 different adult SS classes meeting in one building, or 4 small groups meeting in different places, or even 360 people worshiping in 2 different worship hours? How can we keep what is truly a “unity”? One answer is in this word-picture Paul paints in Ch. 12. We are all parts of a body, and…
I. The Parts All Need Each Other
No part should feel or act inferior in the Body because, by God’s design, they’re all needed.
In this Body, I need your strength where I am weak. You need my strength where you are weak. None of us is as smart as all of us. We need each other. I can’t look at any part of the Body and say it isn’t needed.
1 Corinthians 12:15-18
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
Isn’t it interesting that Paul would use the human body as evidence that every member of the church is indispensable? That tells me something interesting about the human body too…
“Vestigial organs” are those body parts that some scientists tried to say are “vestiges” – leftovers from our evolutionary development. That’s parts like your tonsils, adenoids, appendix, little toe, parathyroid, wisdom teeth, and tailbone. The list of vestigial organs in humans has shrunk from 180 in 1890 to 0 in 1999. That’s because there’s no such thing in the human body as a spare part that isn’t needed! You can’t tell the fingers to take over for the tonsils, or the appendix to take over for the little toe. They’re all different, and all have a purpose. It’s the same with people of the Church.
That means…
Don’t look at yourself and say that you have nothing to contribute to the health of the Body. If you’re saying you have not place in the Body, that’s a cop-out – an excuse. God put you here to be useful to the Body. It’s His design, and it’s His Body, and He has some point for you to be here!
Ill - Herman Ostry's barn floor was under 29 inches of water because of a rising creek. The Bruno, Nebraska, farmer invited a few friends to a barn raising. He needed to move his entire 17,000-pound barn to a new foundation more than 143 feet away. His son Mike devised a lattice work of steel tubing, and nailed, bolted, and welded it on the inside and the outside of the barn. Hundreds of handles were attached. After one practice lift, 344 volunteers slowly walked the barn up a slight incline, each carrying less than 50 pounds. In just 3 minutes, the barn was on its new foundation. The body of Christ can accomplish great things when we work together.
The parts all need each other. “…God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”
II. The Parts are All Honored
No part should look down on any other part, because “lesser” parts are important too. In the Body, I recognize your worth.
Doesn’t it make sense that there are parts of the body that are different from one another?
Paul asks in v.19, “If they were all one part, where would the body be?”
There have to be different parts, or else a body isn’t a body anymore. In fact, if you get down to it, we’re made up of cells – lots of different kinds of cells. And when a bunch of the same cells work together, they form tissue – like bone tissue. And that tissue can all work together to make an organ – like a bone. And that bone can work together with a bunch of other bones to form a system – the skeletal system. But that system could never function without the different tissues and shapes and sizes that form it. Now, go back to that one little cell. Who needs it? Well, the tissue, the bone, the system - the whole body needs it! To be a body, there have to be a lot of parts!
1 Corinthians 12:19-24a
If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
Ill - Someone has said that a good sermon is like a hospital gown – just long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep it interesting! Most folks don’t care for those gowns because there are parts of our body that we don’t consider presentable. That’s true. So what do we do with those non-presentable parts? We give them more attention. We treat them with special modesty. What do we do with our weaker parts? We give them special protection and care. That’s how it works in a body. That’s how it works in this Body.
Outside the Body, it doesn’t work that way, but in the Body, no part deserves to be regarded less. Don’t look around you and think of someone else that they have nothing to contribute to the Body. Parts of the Body may become diseased or weak, but it’s still God’s design that put them here. And His design is that we would help those parts be healthy and strong, so that they can fulfill their role, rather than be amputated.
Hebrews 12:12-13 (NIV)
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
The parts all honor each other. “…God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”
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(Lord’s Supper here)
Probably the bit of Scripture that is most often read about the Lord’s Table is from 1 Co. 11:23ff. There Paul reviews how the Lord’s Supper was begun and stresses how we’re supposed to observe it in the right way. It gives us a lot of insight to how it’s supposed to be. But in the verses right before, there’s some more insight – a little glimpse into part of the disunity in the Church in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 11:17-22
In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
Failing to think well of each other – failing to honor the other members of the Body – dishonors the table of the Lord. This part of the Body life is to be so important, so central, that it’s the very reason the people of God come together. One problem in Corinth was that they weren’t coming together to rightly observe the Lord’s Supper.
This morning, we have an opportunity to act like the Body of Christ – the Body that values every part of it; the Body that remembers Jesus Christ together. As we honor Jesus in this way together, let’s also remember that today in this place, and around the world, the Body of Christ is remembering Him together.
(pray)
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Since we are the Body of Christ, here is one last point to take from this chapter…
III. The Parts Live as If Connected
No part should behave like it’s “separated” from the others, because God put it together. In the Body, I share your pain and joy as my own. We should have a certain “organic unity.” Paul describes it in…
1 Corinthians 12:24b-26
But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
A body has a way of keeping itself in touch with all its members. They’re all connected to a central nervous system, so that they keep in touch with each other. Your body parts have sympathy for the other parts. That means they “feel together.”
Ill - Let’s say you’re watching a Twister tournament. You know, that’s the game where you have a mat with all these colored circles on it. Someone spins a dial and tells everyone “left hand on red” or “right foot on yellow.” It can get pretty tricky. Suppose you’re watching this and you wonder whose left foot that is on blue. All you have to do is stomp on it and pretty soon you’ll find out who’s connected to that foot. A body works that way. Since the parts are connected, it acts connected.
Ill – King Solomon had 2 women come to him with a challenge. Each one had a baby, and one accidentally smothered hers as she slept. She switched the babies. Now Solomon has both mothers were standing in front of him, both saying that the living baby was hers. What would he do? He calls for a sword and says “Cut the baby in half and give each mother a half.” Right away, the woman who was lying says, “Go ahead. Neither one of us will have him.” But the baby’s real mother says, “No, let it live! Give it to her! Better that she should have him than that he die!” Solomon understood what it means for people to be connected. He understood that a mother would suffer at even the thought of her child suffering.
A body isn’t well if a part suffers but the body doesn’t feel it. Either the part has become somewhat disconnected or the body isn’t well. In a healthy situation, the body has equal concern for all its parts. If one part is doing well, the rest of the body is strengthened and glad. If one part of the body is hurting, the rest of the body suffers with it.
Put this in the Church Body setting and understand what it means. No part of the Body should be living like it’s disconnected – no part should behave like it’s separated. And the Body should be living like it feels every part.
We’ve had a couple of funerals at Central in the past couple weeks. Why do people come to those funerals? It’s because we’re part of a body. It’s because we feel for those who are hurting – we grieve with them because we’re connected. Because we live as connected people. Because we have concern for each other. Because If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. We’re a part of the Body – a unit.
When someone steps forward and expresses a need for prayer or for encouragement, understand that’s what happens when we’re acting like a Body – like we’re supposed to.
In a body, the parts live as if they’re connected.
Paul urged the Ephesians
Ephesians 4:3
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Are we doing it? When we show the signs of unity, I believe we are.
Conclusion:
1 Corinthians 12:12-13
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
In Witnesses of a Third Way: A Fresh Look at Evangelism, a chapter by Robert Neff tells this story about visiting a church service: "It was one of those mornings when the tenor didn't get out of bed on the right side. ... As I listened to his faltering voice, I looked around. People were pulling out hymnals to locate the hymn being sung by the soloist.
"By the 2nd verse, the congregation had joined the soloist in the hymn. And by the 3rd verse, the tenor was beginning to find the range. And by the fourth verse, it was beautiful. And on the 5th verse the congregation was absolutely silent, and the tenor sang the most beautiful solo of his life. That is life in the body of Christ, enabling one another to sing the tune Christ has given us.”
Wouldn’t you like to be part of a group of people like that? When the Body of Christ is functioning like it should, it becomes a place where everyone has a place of belonging. People who have struggled with addictions, with abuses, with the results of bad choices, with disappointment about life in general, can become one more part of this body – a unit, made up of man parts.
What a great thing it would be this morning if someone who has remained separate from that Body would become a part of it.
You can, you know…
